NSW Liberals launch class action over botched council nominations

NSW Liberal Party members who were denied the chance to contest last year’s local council elections because of a catastrophic administrative bungle have launched a class action against the party in a move that could be hugely damaging for Peter Dutton’s federal election campaign.

Party members John Moores and John Paynter are the lead plantiffs in the class action, which alleges breach of contract and negligence after the Liberals spectacularly missed the deadline to submit their nomination forms to run for Cessnock City Council in last year’s elections.

Paul Paynter and John Moores were picked to run as Liberals for in the council elections until a major administrative mistake stopped them.

The other almost 150 Liberal candidates who were also victims of the nomination debacle are also considered part of the class action unless they opt out of the proceedings. The statement of claim was filed with the Supreme Court on Monday as the second week of the federal election campaign kicked off.

Missing the nominations deadline for last September’s poll meant eight local councils went to the statewide local government elections without a Liberal candidate on the ticket. Northern Beaches Council was one of the most high profile of those affected.

Lane Cove, Camden and Campbelltown councils were also left without Liberal candidates, while regional voters in Cessnock, Wollongong and the Blue Mountains also had no Liberal option at the ballot box. About 16 councils were affected overall.

Richard Shields, then-state director of the party, was sacked over the party failure, party president and former NSW minister Don Harwin was also forced out, and Dutton instigated a federal takeover of the embattled NSW division of the party.

Dutton appointed a three-person panel to clean up the dysfunctional division. The panel included Victorian senator Richard Alston, ex-Victorian treasurer Alan Stockdale and former state MP Peta Seaton.

NSW Opposition leader Mark Speakman led a chorus of senior Liberals who were scathing about the “monumental stuff-up” at the time. “It’s a basic matter of competence and administration,” he said.

In a major loss for Speakman and the NSW moderate Liberals, Dutton blocked Speakman’s push to add two NSW division members to the panel to oversee the clean-up effort. The defeat was seen as a major blow to the moderates in NSW, which have been the dominant faction.

Instead, Seaton is the sole NSW panel member, which is dominated by Victorians. Initially, Dutton’s panel was all males, but one of the nominees, former planning minister Rob Stokes, told the federal opposition leader he was unable to serve on the committee.

The first Stokes knew of his appointment to the committee was when he read about it in The Sydney Morning Herald. Former state director Chris Stone was brought in to run the federal election campaign, as well as byelections in Epping, Pittwater and Hornsby.

The Liberals won Epping and Hornsby, but Pittwater was lost to teal candidate Jacqui Scruby.

Sydney lawyer George Newhouse is running the class action, which is listed for a directions hearing on May 29. The NSW Liberal Party has been contacted for comment.

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